Euthanasia...UPDATE: Dr. K set for June Parole

1savvydiva · #1 10-23-2003, 02:45 AM

Comatose Woman's Feeding Tube Removed

Wednesday, October 15, 2003

PINELLAS PARK, Fla. — The feeding tube keeping a severely brain-damaged woman alive was removed Wednesday, all but ending an epic, 10-year legal battle between her husband and her parents.

Terri Schiavo (search), 39, had the tube removed at the Tampa Bay-area hospice where she has lived for several years, said her father, Bob Schindler. Attorneys representing her husband, Michael Schiavo, said it will take between a week and 10 days for her to die.

The parents want Terri Schiavo to live, and her husband says she would rather die. She has been in a vegetative state since 1990, when her heart stopped because of what doctors said may have been a chemical imbalance.

Bob Schindler said he and his wife, Mary, went in to see their daughter shortly after the tube was removed and gave her a kiss and hugged her. He said his daughter was not as responsive as they claim she normally has been.

"She's OK for the next couple of days," said Suzanne Carr, Terri Schiavo's sister. "We are just going to try to work some magic."

"I have to believe that somebody is doing something, somewhere to stop this judicial homicide," she said.

Michael Schiavo and his attorney George Felos were not immediately available for comment after the removal of the tube.

Several right-to-die cases across the nation have been fought in the courts in recent years, but few, if any, have been this drawn-out and bitter. The tangled case has already been handled by 19 separate judges and the tube has been ordered removed three times. At one point 2001, the tube was removed for two days before a judge ordered feeding to be resumed based on new evidence.

About 100 protesters stood outside the hospice Wednesday in what has become a 24-hour vigil staged by advocates for the disabled and anti-abortion activists.

Wednesday's removal came just hours after Gov. Jeb Bush (search) told the Schindlers that he was instructing his legal staff to find some means to block a court order allowing Michael Schiavo to end his wife's life. But even the family's lawyer has said their legal remedies have been exhausted.

"I am not a doctor, I am not a lawyer. But I know that if a person can be able to sustain life without life support, that should be tried," the governor said, adding the "ultimate decision of this is in the courts."

Family members held out hope that they could save her life and were heartened by the governor's last-minute effort.

"The family has not given up hope on Terri," the woman's brother, Bob Schindler Jr., said following a meeting with Bush. "We have spoken to the governor, and he hasn't given up hope either."

Schiavo's family members believe she is capable of learning how to eat and drink on her own and say she has shown signs of trying to communicate and could be rehabilitated.

Michael Schiavo says he is carrying out his wife's wishes that she not be kept alive artificially.

Felos has said that the Schindlers were "still in denial" over Terri Schiavo's wishes not to be kept alive with the tube, an IV-like device that pumps food and water into her stomach.

Doctors have testified that the noises and facial expressions Terri Schiavo makes are reflexes and do not indicate that she has enough mental capabilities to communicate with others.

The Florida Supreme Court has twice refused to hear the case, and it also has been rejected for review by the U.S. Supreme Court. On Tuesday, a Florida appeals court again refused to block removal of the tube.

The Schindlers first sought to remove Michael Schiavo as his wife's guardian in 1993 after a falling out over her medical care. They say he now has a conflict of interest because he is engaged to another woman and they have a child together.

The family has also leveled allegations that Michael Schiavo has abused Terri Schiavo, although the accusations have not been substantiated.

Michael Schiavo has refused to divorce his wife, saying that he fears her parents would ignore her desire to die if they became her guardians.

AKA2D '91 · #2 10-23-2003, 08:09 AM

Jeb Bush did intervene and this lady was removed from her rehab hospital to another location. Yesterday or the day before, she was being fed liquids using the 'drip'.

nikki1920 · #3 10-23-2003, 10:36 AM

Interesting case. Who has the final say so, the husband or the family? Very scary. I'm mad at Jeb (what kind of name is that?) for going OVER Florida's Supreme Court and ordering the feeding tube re-inserted. I'm angry at her parents for being selfish and wanting her to remain in a vegetative state. I applaud her husband for his efforts.. I dont know what I would do in this situation...

1savvydiva · #4 10-23-2003, 10:39 AM

It's a VERY tough situation. I had to do a paper on this subject in Ethics class two semesters ago, and while doing my research, my view completely changed. Although you have the law in place for those people who don't have the patient's best interest at heart, at what point can you say enough suffering is enough?

Paradise359 · #5 10-23-2003, 10:51 AM

I don't even really think it's euthanasia b/c her husband isn't trying to assist her in dying. W/o the feeding tube she will die anyway. She's artifically being kept alive. I feel so sorry for the family b/c it's a death of a family member, but I understand the husband's position. The women that they all knew & loved is gone already. Only her body still lives on.

Personally I would not want to be artifically kept alive if it meant I, as in my spirit was no longer there. I don't want to be killed but if machines are keeping me alive, I'd want live to take its course, which ends in death.

1savvydiva · #6 10-23-2003, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Paradise359
I don't even really think it's euthanasia b/c her husband isn't trying to assist her in dying. W/o the feeding tube she will die anyway. She's artifically being kept alive.

Well, in my research I learned that a case like this would still be considered euthanasia. There are two forms: active euthanasia (Dr. Kevorkian), and passive euthanasia. With passive euthanasia, it's kind of like pulling the plug on someone on life support, you take away all external interference and let nature take it's course.

Quote:

I feel so sorry for the family b/c it's a death of a family member, but I understand the husband's position. The women that they all knew & loved is gone already. Only her body still lives on.

Personally I would not want to be artifically kept alive if it meant I, as in my spirit was no longer there. I don't want to be killed but if machines are keeping me alive, I'd want live to take its course, which ends in death.

I second that...what kind of life is she living...it's not a life, it's an existence.

Paradise359 · #7 10-23-2003, 11:06 AM

[QUOTE]Originally posted by 1savvydiva
[B]Well, in my research I learned that a case like this would still be considered euthanasia. There are two forms: active euthanasia (Dr. Kevorkian), and passive euthanasia. With passive euthanasia, it's kind of like pulling the plug on someone on life support, you take away all external interference and let nature take it's course.

Ohhh ok. Thanks for the education

AKA2D '91 · #8 10-23-2003, 11:50 AM

There's more to the story than the above article. I read in our local paper last week that the family suspects foul play with the husband. Doctors (when the lady was admitted to the hospital) reported that she had ring marks around her neck. Also, doctors never understood why her heart stopped beating. The family suspects the husband was abusive.

Still, should she remain on life support?

If so, how long?

The moral of the story, in my opinion: have EVERYTHING outlined in case something happens. Do it NOW, before anything does.

ClassyLady · #9 10-23-2003, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by AKA2D '91
The moral of the story, in my opinion: have EVERYTHING outlined in case something happens. Do it NOW, before anything does.

Exactly! This case demonstrates the importance of a living will. Write down exactly what you want to happen in case you are ever in a position where someone else would have to decide for you.

Personally, I would not want to live in a vegetative state. Take me off life support and let the Lord take me home or keep me here.

1savvydiva · #10 10-28-2003, 09:36 AM

Updated: 08:04 AM EST
'He Wants the Money'
Schiavo Rips Wife's Family in Right-to-Die Case
By VICKIE CHACHERE, AP

TAMPA, Fla. (Oct. 28) -- A man involved in a bitter dispute with his in-laws over whether his brain-damaged wife should be kept alive says money and the influence of conservative political causes motivates her parents to block his battle to let her die.

In his first interview since the latest round of legal fighting in the highly publicized case, Michael Schiavo said Monday on CNN's ''Larry King Live'' that he continues to fight to end his wife's life because her wishes were not to be kept alive artificially.

''This is Terri's wish,'' he said of the removal of her feeding tube. ''And I am going to follow that if this is the last thing I can do for Terri.''

Terri Schiavo, 39, has been in a persistent vegetative state since 1990 when a chemical imbalance, brought on by an eating disorder, caused her heart to stop and deprived her brain of oxygen.

Her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, believe their daughter could be rehabilitated and dispute the husband's contention that she did not want to be kept alive artificially.

Terri Schiavo's feeding tube was removed for six days earlier this month before the Florida Legislature and Gov. Jeb Bush enacted a special law to have it reinserted. The move touched off an international debate over the Schiavo case and right-to-die issues.

Terri Schiavo is being treated at a Pinellas Park hospice while her husband's attorney and the American Civil Liberties Union prepare to challenge to constitutionality of ''Terri's Law.'' The first filings in that legal fight are due Wednesday.

Appearing less than an hour later on Fox News' ''On the Record with Greta Van Sustern,'' the attorney for the Schindlers countered that Michael Schiavo knew his wife never had end-of-life wishes.

''It's hard to know what to believe with him because he says whatever the occasion demands or what is in his financial interests,'' said the attorney, Pat Anderson.

Michael Schiavo said his relationship with the Schindlers soured after he was awarded a 1993 medical malpractice claim of about $1 million. Schiavo says the settlement was awarded because doctors misdiagnosed Terri Schiavo's health problems.

He said after that, his father-in-law asked him for a share of the money, and he refused to give him any.

''He's always wanted the money,'' Schiavo said of Bob Schindler. ''He wants the money. He wants the control.''

Schiavo denied that he has withheld therapy from his wife, saying he once took her to California for an experimental therapy in which a stimulator was implanted in her brain. It didn't work, he said.

''Now, they (his in-laws) are being fed all this information by those right-to-life activists who are feeding their little flame,'' he said.

He also answered criticism that he has abandoned his wife for a longtime girlfriend with whom he has one child and another on the way. Schiavo said his girlfriend is supportive of his care for Terri Schiavo.

''I'm fortunate to have two women in my life that I love very much,'' he said. ''My girlfriend right now has done more for Terri than her own mother did. She shopped for her. She washed her clothes.''

10/28/03 0445EST

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Dag...I would hate to be the judge deciding this case, I wouldn't know who to believe!

This is why one should make their wishes known...IN WRITING!

mccoyred · #11 10-28-2003, 11:33 AM

Okay, couple of questions and comments:

1) Instead of questioning whether she should live or die, I think the issue is to determine WHO makes the decision, the spouse or the parents?

2) How dare baby Bush override the state Supreme Court in matters of INTERPRETING the law! The Governor (executive) and legislature (legislative) branches should stay the heck out of it. As far as I see it, the issue is a constitutional one and falls under the purview of the courts.

3) I question the husband's motives any way because if he knew what her wishes were on this issue, why wait 13 YEARS to carry them out. He probably has moved on and wants closure, though I can't blame him for that.

4) AKA2D said it right, get it done so that there are no grounds for misinterpretation.

snuggles12 · #12 10-29-2003, 11:36 AM

In this case, I would allow the parents to be the guardian over their daughter. The husband, IMHO, gave up that right when he starting living with another woman and having a 2nd baby with the other woman. I don't think he has her best interests.

Personally, I wouldn't want to live in a vegetative state. But I think her parents should make that decision. I'm very suspicious of the husband.

nikki1920 · #13 10-29-2003, 12:46 PM

Her heart stopped beating due to a chemical imbalance (low potassium levels prob induced by an eating disorder). I didnt know about a trust fund and all that...hmmm. BUT I agree that she should be allowed to pass on.. no reason for someone to exist for 13 years with no hope of rehabilitation...

but husband is jive shady...how you gonna get another chick pregnant and stuff.. hmmmm...

Eirene_DGP · #14 10-29-2003, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by snuggles12
In this case, I would allow the parents to be the guardian over their daughter. The husband, IMHO, gave up that right when he starting living with another woman and having a 2nd baby with the other woman. I don't think he has her best interests.

Personally, I wouldn't want to live in a vegetative state. But I think her parents should make that decision. I'm very suspicious of the husband.

I agree, but the simple fact that money is involved makes me wonder. In the back of his mind, I bet he is thinking he cannot marry his baby's momma until his wife dies and he cannot get the insurance money either. Some articles say that the government seized a portion of the money he got from the malpractice suit, but he was on Larry King the other night talking about how much money he has....that is a little suspect.

AKA2D '91 · #15 02-22-2005, 03:37 PM

The saga continues...

CLEARWATER, Fla. (Reuters) - A Florida court ordered continued feeding for a severely brain-damaged woman on Tuesday, shortly after an appeals court said the feeding tube could be removed to let her die.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...hts_schiavo_dc